“Hahhh...” Medium sighed, crossing his legs and laying back on his outdoor recliner chair, “...good to kick back, am I right, Pan?”
“I agree,” Pan responded. “Running a business really takes a lot out of you. After all, one really shouldn’t overextend themselves.”
Medium smiled, turning his gaze to the mare. “Can’t argue there.”
Pan Fry and Medium Rare, a couple of skilled chefs who had spent a great deal of time dating, were both taking a bit of vacation time from running their business chain, headquartered in Canterlot. All they wanted was to spend time with each other, given how little intimacy they had during their hours on the clock. Both were at Pan’s nice mansion, out on the balcony overlooking the downtown portion of the historic city.
After a little while of laying and looking across the landscape and across the evening sky, a bell dinged from inside, through the open door.
Medium sat up. “Oh, the pot pie’s done!”
Pan herself sat up. “Excellent! I’m quite hungry.”
The two went inside, where Medium took the bean curd deep-dish from the oven. It smelled great, and got their mouths watering immediately. They wasted no time diving in, taking sizeable slices of the pie, and taking seats at the table.
“I must say, Medium,” Pan began, “ever since I came... well, here... you’ve really helped me change my outlook on life, immensely.”
Medium blushed. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Pan. I must admit, I always felt that something was missing from my life, and before I met you... I never realized what it was.”
Pan giggled. “So glad I could fill that void!”
They more or less continued to eat, asking the occasional question about how their life was going, as they did not live together, and did many things on their own in their free time. After a little bit, though, the doorbell rang.
“Oh!” Pan said, directing her attention to the front door. “Who might that be?”
She made her way to the door, and opened it to reveal another stallion. It was a fairly muscular pony with orange hide, yellow mane and tail, the former sleeked back, and a cutie mark of hands shaking, one of which had a red cross mark on the sleeve. Pan realized exactly who this was.
“Oh, Resilience!” She said.
“Hey, Pan,” the stallion said, smiling. “Great to see you.”
It was Resilience Redcross. He served as a veteran soldier in his early years, though his proficiency resided primarily in airship piloting, and most notably, in his expertise as a combat medic. He lived for well over a century; due to exposure to a chemical compound mixture, his DNA was altered in such a way that it could replicate flawlessly, preventing him from aging. His first encounter with Pan was quite dramatic, but led to them becoming very close friends in a short time.
“What are you doing here?” Pan asked.
“I came to see you, of course!” Resilience responded. “May I come in?”
Pan stepped aside, motioning into her house. “Sure! You’re always welcome here.”
Resilience followed his female friend into the dining room, where he caught sight of Medium Rare.
“Oh, who’s this?” He asked.
“Resilience, this is Medium,” Pan said. “He’s my coltfriend.”
“Coltfriend? How nice!” Resilience turned to the male chef pony. “You’re quite lucky, winning over a mare like her!”
Medium shrugged, smirking. “Yeah, well...”
“We also prepared some dinner,” Pan said. “Care for some bean curd pot pie?”
Resilience turned his focus to the dish in question, on the table. “Oh, I couldn’t! It’s your meal.”
“Please, have some!” Pan said. “We insist!”
“All the more ponies to feast on our finest personal culinary creations!” Medium added.
Resilience lightly chuckled under his breath. “Well, alright. I was a bit hungry, anyway.”
So, the combatant stallion took a seat at the table with the other two. He ate his meal along with Pan and her coltfriend, conversing with the two.
“So,” Medium began, “how did you meet Pan?”
Resilience swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking. “Well, let’s just say... it wasn’t exactly in ideal circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” Medium asked.
Pan Fry sighed. “...It was when my restaurant was being... robbed.”
Medium’s eyes went wide. “Oh, right... I heard about that.”
“So,” Resilience began, “I was visiting when the robber came to loot the safe, holding Pan at gunpoint. That’s when I stepped in, as I had my own personal sidearm concealed in my saddlebag. When the robber realized I had my weapon trained on him, that’s when he tried to turn his own weapon on me. However, he was sloppy, and given that I had years of combat experience, discharged a single shot that connected with his firearm, disarming him.
“I then verbally ordered him to surrender, where I kept him detained until the constabulary arrived, where they promptly took him away. Pan was, of course, extremely thankful for the perfect timing of my intervention. She offered me various coupons for free meals and other deals.”
Pan nodded. “He tried to decline, but I insisted. I just wanted to let him know how grateful I was for saving my life.”
Medium was speechless for a few moments. He knew the robbery had been stopped, but he always thought it was the Canterlot Constabulary that intervened. To think, a single heroic act from a bystander made the big difference of the situation...
“Wow...” Medium uttered, “...I guess I really should be thanking you, Resilience. You did my marefriend a great deed!”
“It was nothing,” Resilience said. “I just have a personal policy to help those who need it, whenever it’s in my ability.”
Medium nodded. “That’s a good mindset.”
“Yeah,” Pan said, scooting closer to Resilience. “And Resilience and I have been really close ever since...”
She placed a hoof on his upper hunch. Resilience subtly gasped and looked down at her hoof, before placing his own over it and looking her in the eye.
“Anything for such a lovely lady,” he said.
“Hmm-hmm,” Pan giggled.
Medium frowned as he watched this exchange of gestures. The two were looking to be a little... too friendly for his liking. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he diverted his attention to his meal, attempting to pass it off as just a friendly gesture.
He saved her life, after all, Medium thought. Only natural she would be incredibly grateful.
Once the three finished dinner, they put their dishes and leftovers away. Resilience decided to stick around a while longer, having forgotten just how great it was to be in Pan Fry’s company. He was also quite grateful to be introduced to Medium Rare.
They lounged around, streaming some good shows and movies. The whole time, Pan found herself gradually shifting closer in her seat toward Resilience, even wrapping her forelegs around him at one point. Though the stallion was caught a bit off guard by this, but relented to it. Truthfully, he had a bit of an intimacy void with the passing of his wife and child in a fire, many years ago. He never fully recovered from the tragedy, even to this day.
Out of his lack of physical affection from a female for years, he began to wrap his own forelegs around her. They both smiled and even leaned their heads into each other as they watched the television.
Medium, needless to say, was not feeling very comfortable about what the two were doing right next to him. He tried to feebly wrap a foreleg around Pan, but was unable to get it around her, due to her back being against the sofa, and her neck blocked by Resilience’s hoof. Pan gave Medium a strange look, like “just what do you think you’re doing?” making him retreat back to his regular sitting position.
The male chef sulked. Why is she doing this to me? This is getting to be a bit much, isn’t it?
A little while later, the sun set completely, and the sky grew dark as night fell. It was time for them to start winding down. Medium, wanting to be by himself for a little bit after being withdrawn from Pan throughout the evening, went up to the master bedroom. Resilience was about to make his way out, but Pan stopped him for a moment.
“So glad you stopped by tonight,” she said.
Resilience nodded. “Just wanted to check up on you, make sure all was well.”
“It’s always good with you around, Resilience,” Pan remarked.
She stepped out onto her stoop, toward the stallion.
“After that incident at the restaurant...” she said, “...you’ve truly become one of the most important stallions in my life. And I just feel like I need to make up for everything you did for me...”
She then planted a quick kiss on Resilience’s lips. He was surprised for a split second, before he became absolutely flustered, his face going red.
“Aw, Pan...” he muttered, embarrassed.
The mare smiled. “Hey, you deserve it.”
Little were the two aware... that small act happened to be seen by somepony else...
...Medium, peering from the second-floor landing, felt his heart sink, and his body freeze up after what he just witnessed.
What?! He thought. She... KISSED him?! B-but... I thought she loved ME...!
Not able to even bring himself to look at the stallion who, he assumed, stole the heart of his lover, Medium retreated back to the master bedroom, pulling himself under the covers and switching off the light. He waited what felt like a lifetime before Pan came into the room.
She clearly assumed Medium was asleep, because she entered quietly, and pulled herself under the covers with minimal disturbance. In reality, he was feigning rest, as he could not get himself to sleep. Not after being betrayed by the one mare in his life he thought he could fully trust...
Late in the night, once Pan Fry was deeply asleep, Medium, who laid awake, quietly climbed out of bed. He stepped out of the room, down the stairs, and into the main living area. He flicked on some lights, and found some paper and a pen.
Sighing, deep in heartache, and tears filling his eyes, Medium took the pen in his mouth, and began writing a message:
Pan Fry,
I thought I could give you everything you could ask for, in terms of what you want in a stallion. However, after what I witnessed tonight... it seems I am incapable of living up to your standards. Resilience Redcross CLEARLY has far exceeded that threshold.
He saved your life, and you have clearly fallen head-over-hooves for him. He’s a much better stallion than I could ever be. He’s a war veteran, he stopped a robber, and what have I ever done? Just mix, chop, blend, fry, broil, and bake. After all, where’s the heroism in THAT?
So, since he’s more capable of making you happy than I am, I will head on out in the hope of finding another mare with standards I will not fail to meet. I am sorry I was such a disappointment to you. All that matters is your happiness, right?
With this in mind, I plan to pursue my own happiness. It’s clearly not in Canterlot, so I will be leaving to look elsewhere.
Goodbye,
Medium Rare.
He left the note on the pillow on his side of the bed, quietly leaving the house thereafter. At this point, the waterworks were really starting to show on him. He was glad it was nighttime, so nopony would see him crying.
To lose the pony you love to somepony else... it was probably worse than losing them to death. If your lover dies, at least they die still loving you. But when they leave you for somepony else... nothing hurt more than betrayal from your romantic partner.
“I can’t believe this...” Medium sobbed, “...I-I should’ve known it was... t-t-too good... to be true...!”
He made his way back to his own house, where he promptly started filling a suitcase and saddlebags with basic necessities. The remainder of his vacation time would be spent doing a bit of traveling, in hopes of exploring various potential new home cities.
“It’s better this way,” Medium said to himself. “It’s for her own good... and mine, too. Last thing either of us want is a bunch of drama from all this.”
Upon finishing packing up, he logged onto the PonyNet, looking at the Canterlot Train Station schedule. He wanted to catch something early, because, well... the sooner he could leave this heartbreak city behind, the better.
Pan Fry woke up the following morning to the light streaming through the curtain gaps.
“Ah...” she sighed, sitting up and stretching.
She noticed Medium was not in bed with her.
“Must’ve gotten an early start,” Pan said to herself.
Then, she noticed the note on the pillow, which she promptly opened and skimmed over. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell agape. It was no later than a quarter of an hour that she phoned Resilience and called him over.
“Did he say anything before he left?” Resilience asked.
Pan shook her head. “He didn’t tell me that what I did with you last night upset him! I mean... if he was willing to talk with me about it...”
Resilience pondered for a moment. “Only real way out of Canterlot at this time is the train station. There are no zeppelins to depart the skyport until eleven-hundred hours.”
“Do you think we should go after him?” Pan asked. “Try to explain ourselves to him a little better?”
“Maybe,” Resilience said, looking in the direction of her front door. “My biggest concern is whether he’d be willing to hear us out or not.”
Pan sighed. “I just really am glad for everything you did for me, Resil. I just hoped he wouldn’t misunderstand the whole thing. I still care about him, and I...”
“Don’t move...” a firm voice said behind her, coldly.
Almost immediately, something cold and metallic pressed into her throat, being held from behind. Pan gasped. Resilience turned to see who spoke. It appeared to be a pegasus thug, who had snuck in through the open window of her living room. He had a very messy mane and tail of a dull orange color, and charcoal hide, covered in scars.
Pan whimpered as she felt the knife at her neck. Resilience gasped, hastily reaching for his sluglauncher pistol on his saddlebag.
“Don’t try it!” The intruder shouted. “Or she dies!”
“O-okay...!” Resilience said, holding up his hoof. “Okay! Not reaching for it!”
“Just stay the buck back!” The psychotic pegasus ordered.
Resilience pressed on something concealed beneath his mane; a small radio transmitter given to him as part of compensation for his military service. Upon activation, it would transmit his location and a distress signal to the local authorities, ensuring prompt response. It required a monthly subscription fee, but was fully paid for by his benefits provider.
It had to be pressed ten times within five seconds, just to avoid accidental transmission. So, Resilience had to make it look like he was scratching an itch.
He just prayed to Celestia that they could arrive quickly...
Later that day, Medium took a seat on one of the train station platform’s benches, awaiting his train. He already bought a ticket to Fillydelphia, since it seemed like a promising city for a skilled chef like him. He sighed longingly, hoping that the ray of light he saw at the end of the tunnel was not just an empty hope.
The pegasus chef sighed. “I just hope I’m not doing the wrong thing...”
He spent a good bit of time reading some culinary magazines, waiting for his train to arrive. He also hoped splurging a bit on first class could provide him some relief from his sudden anguish. He did, however, briefly divert his attention from the written material when he happened to look at a public television in the station terminal.
“We’ve just been handed some breaking news,” the newsmare said. “This just in, local restaurant chain proprietor, Pan Fry, is currently being held hostage in her own residence by an armed, unidentified home invader. Officials state the perp is currently in a standoff with veteran soldier Resilience Redcross and the local constabulary.”
Medium’s eyes went wide, and he blinked a few times after seeing Pan appear on the screen, along with aerial footage of her home, zooming in to see two shrouded figures, one holding the other around the neck, through the window.
“The authorities have been ordered not to engage, as they cannot take any risk of civilian casualties,” the reporter spoke.
The chef stood from his seat, his jaw dropping as the realization struck him; his marefriend was being held hostage!
“Oh, no...” he muttered, “...no, no, no... of all times, why now?! Oh, what am I supposed to do...?!”
He paced anxiously around for several seconds, pondering if he could possibly intervene. Would he really be willing to risk himself to save a mare he is very close to?
“...No!” Medium said to himself. “It’s too dangerous! I can’t do anything! That’s the constabulary’s job! But...”
He glanced in every which direction, trying to decide what would be the morally superior decision: leave this to the constabulary, or play the hero and risk getting himself hurt or killed?
“...Damn,” Medium uttered.
He looked back up at the television, and then back in the direction of Pan’s home. He darted his gaze around for a moment, before he looked back in the direction he came, and narrowed his eyes.
“Look...” Resilience spoke, quietly, “...there’s a way we can all get out of this peacefully. No one needs to get hurt, here.”
“STOP TALKING!” The intruder shouted, lightly digging the knife into Pan’s throat.
“I just need to ask...” Resilience said, “...why are you doing this?”
“I SAID STOP!” The intruder repeated. “I’m dying from a terminal disease! Nopony can cure me!”
Resilience’s eyes widened. “Is that it? What good is it going to do for you to cause a bunch of mayhem?”
“It’s too late for me to stop!” The intruder said. “And I’m not going to jail!”
Resilience held up a hoof. “Listen to me! There are ponies willing to help! But doing something like this doesn’t help anypony!”
“JUST CLOSE YOUR BUCKING MOUTH ALREADY!” The deranged pegasus shouted.
“...R-Resil... please...” Pan barely stammered.
“AND YOU TOO, BITCH!” The intruder yelled, whacking her over the head. “Everyone needs to show me a little more EMPATHY! I need someone to be able to give me the ability to live life like I was MEANT to! I won’t let nopony get in my way—”
CLANK.
“AGH...!” The intruder grunted, before he released his grip on Pan and slumped over.
Pan quickly stepped away, looking back to see another pony in the room, a stallion. One whom he recognized to be...
“...Medium?” She asked.
It was indeed her coltfriend who, supposedly, was going to leave the city. From the look of it, he struck the criminal over the back of the head with a large saucepan. He let out a relieved sigh.
“Pan...” Medium said.
“You came back?!” Pan said.
Medium nodded, but before he could say anything, some of the officers, who were surrounding the residence, made their way inside the front door, very silently.
“STOP!” One constabulary officer shouted, rushing for Medium. “Get on the ground!”
As the officer was a unicorn, he powered up his horn and fired a spell at the pegasus chef.
“GRGH!” Medium grunted, squinting his eyes shut and clenching his teeth before he hit the ground.
He had been struck with a paralysis curse.
“Wait, stop!” Pan shouted.
“Hey, back up!” Another officer shouted as they rushed in.
“No, hold on!” Resilience chimed in.
“Keep your distance while we apprehend the perpetrator!” Another officer said. “Any interference will be considered obstruction of justice!”
“LISTEN!” Resilience shouted.
This got the officers’ attention.
“He’s not the perp!” Resilience said. “It’s the gray pony! The other one got inside and stopped him!”
“Are you absolutely sure?” One officer asked.
“Yes!” Pan added. “That crazy, gray pony held a knife at my throat! The other one is my coltfriend! Please let him go!”
With that, the officers turned their attention toward the real criminal, paying no more mind to Medium. Since he was far enough away from the apprehension scene, Pan could make her way over to him without interfering. She lifted Medium’s head partly off the floor.
“Are you okay, Medium?” Pan asked.
Medium strained. “Nnngh... that spell... it made me hurt... everywhere...” he barely managed to utter.
This made the chef mare feel a bit guilty for some reason, even though she had no way of preventing anything that happened just then. The officers restrained the unconscious intruder, and removed him from the premises.
“Will my coltfriend be okay?” Pan asked one of the remaining officers.
“Unfortunately, there is no counter-spell for a paralysis curse,” the officer said. “He’s just going to have to wait it out and let his mobility return with time. Given that this will be in the report, compensation will be provided for the use of force on a non-suspect.”
Shortly, all the officers left after taking statements from Pan Fry and Resilience, as well as photographing the scene and securing the knife in an evidence bag. This left Medium laying on the couch after Resilience levitated him onto it. From there, the unicorn stallion performed some healing spells to try and alleviate the pegasus’ pain, but it did not help a great deal.
Pan hugged her coltfriend. “Oh, Medium... I’m so sorry!”
Medium could not even lift his forelegs to return the hug. However, he was grateful that she was showing remorse for what happened. Based on her behavior last night, he expected her to just be hugging the buck out of Resilience instead of him.
“Medium...” Pan began, “...listen, I know I may have gone a little overboard, what with showing my gratitude to Resilience and whatnot... but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love you!”
“...Mrrrgh...” Medium groaned, turning to face the mare, “...I just got... mixed messages, is all... agh...”
“Will you forgive me for all this?” Pan asked.
“Depends...” Medium uttered, straining to tip his head up and look at Resilience, “...do you choose him... over me?”
“What?” Pan said. “No! Of course not, Medium! You know I’m dedicated to you alone. As for what happened last night... yeah, I know I went a little far with gratitude. But what can I say? I’m just a very appreciative mare.”
Medium slightly smiled. “...Just be okay if... you’d express it... more appropriately...”
“And hey,” Resilience spoke up, “once you’re back on your hooves... what’s say you do something that could really help me?”
Medium turned his attention to the war veteran. “...Like what?”
“My cooking skills, despite having the essentials down...” Resilience said, “...are very lacking in the level of glamour that you possess.”
“Oh...?” Medium uttered.
“Perhaps you could teach me about how to prepare some more refined dishes? I feel it would really be of benefit to me, given that I live on my own.” Resilience said.
Despite the dull, aching pain throughout his body making him feel terrible, Medium did manage to give a slight smile to the unicorn stallion.
“...Yeah...” he uttered. “...That could work out...”
“So, aside from that little unfortunate happening...” Pan Fry said, “...I believe we’ve got everything sorted out now?”
“...Yeah...” Medium strained, “...once I can move... w-without hurting... agh...!”
Resilience pressed Medium back down as the latter attempted to roll.
“Just lie down for now,” Resilience said, “it’s best you recover after taking that hit from the paralysis curse. You should be okay after a while, though.”
It was later in the evening, Resilience had gone home, and Pan Fry was looking after Medium, who was slowly but surely recovering. He was able to stand and walk once more, but was still a bit achy. After dinner and some down time, the two were ready for bed.
“Well,” Pan Fry said, “glad this crazy day is finally over.”
“Glad to be able to move again,” Medium said.
“And again, Medium...” Pan began, “...I’m really sorry for everything; for giving you the wrong signals, and getting you hurt by the police.”
Medium shrugged. “Hey, as long as I get to stay with you, Pan... I’m sure it was worth it.”
Pan weakly smiled. “That does make me feel glad to have you as a coltfriend.”
She planted a quick kiss on his lips, and held him in a hug, which he returned, just before climbing into bed.
“Well, I’m calling it quits for tonight,” Pan said.
“Me too,” Medium said, climbing into the bed next to her.
Pan used her magic telekinesis to turn off the light. “Goodnight, Medium.”
“Goodnight, Pan,” Medium responded.
As he lay in bed, hours passed when he was unable to fall asleep, the same question playing over and over in his mind.
Will this all really work out for the three of us?